Managing Software for Growth: Without Fear, Control, and the Manufacturing Mindset

Chapter 16. A Regular Lead Bullet

Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr, cofounders of the WHAM-O® toy company have become known as the gurus of blockbuster fads. In 1957, an Australian visiting California told the two men that kids down under twirled bamboo hoops around their waists for exercise in gym class. Melin and Knerr could hear the cash registers. By the end of the year they had a prototype made out of a new kind of plastic, and kids on California playgrounds loved it. When they put the product on the market in 1958, over 25 million sold in the first four months. Within a year, they had international orders for 100 million. By the end of 1959, the fad had run its course—after Melin and Knerr raked in $45 million.^[1]

^[1] The facts of ...